The dust has barely settled on a golden summer of eventing but Team GB’s top man is already plotting the road to glory for LA 2028.

Dickie Waygood is British Equestrian’s eventing performance manager and has been the beating heart of the nations's success on the world stage, highlighted at Paris 2024 when Tom McEwen, Ros Canter and Laura Collett won Team GB’s first medal of the Olympic Games.

Team GB had not won eventing gold for 49 years prior to their Tokyo triumph and despite their remarkable double, Waygood is not resting on his laurels.

The journey to securing an unprecedented Olympic three-peat begins at this week’s Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

“Burghley is a pathway for Championship horses,” said Waygood.

“I’ve got my elite performance hat and my Championship hat on, so I’m looking at every horse and combination to judge if it will be a Championship horse for us.

“We’ve found that horses that do well at 5*s are good Championship horses.”

British Equestrian was thrust into the limelight for all the wrong reasons when a video emerged prior to the Games of double Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse during a training session.

The response could not have been much better with Team GB securing five medals in Paris, more than any other nation, and bringing the feel-good factor back to the sport.

“Where it really helped us was for the eventers to win the first gold medal for Team GB,” said Waygood.

“That was brilliant to go and do that and it wasn’t just the fact they won, it was the way they did it. It was so professional.

“Somebody said to me that they [McEwen, Canter and Collett] are all champions but they are normal people and that was the biggest compliment you could pay that group.

“The quality of our riders, their mindset and the culture is what stands us apart.”

All eyes are on Burghley this week, one of two top-level events held in the UK, and one which triple Olympic medallist McEwen dubbed ‘the best 5* in the world.’

For Waygood, it marks the start of the long road to Los Angeles, as the stars of tomorrow cut their teeth at eventing’s most picturesque yet punishing venue.

“In eventing we’ve got a lot of depth with Yas [Yasmin Ingham, Paris 2024 reserve rider] for example, who absolutely contributed to that team result and was outstanding,” added Waygood.

“You could have sent a second team and maybe a third team who you would have put an each way bet on.

“We’ve done the reflection and celebration and it’s now about how we evolve and get better again.

“5*s are a really good indicator for us. There are quite a few horses we’re keeping an eye on with their pathway and development.”

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (5-8 September 2024) has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world's top equestrians and is attended by vast and enthusiastic crowds. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk